Eli climbs aspen Lily and the cubs went for a walk today and came within 30 feet of their den to check out the PTZ camera (9:49 AM CDT). All easily stayed on top of the snow after the 16F temperature last night. It was great to see them close again. We wondered if they would return to the den after spending a night in a snowy bed. No. They didn’t even check out the (wet) den for old time’s sake. They have moved on to new adventures. Video of Lily and her cubs returning to check out the PTZ camera is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Uz5vc_wFs.
Eli and Ellie frolic near PTZThe fresh snow and cold temperatures have prevented melting at the bases of the big white pines. Usually we don’t see bears moving from dens until there are patches of bare dry ground to bed on. This year, even if they dug down through the snow like Lily did outside her den, they couldn’t have cleared a big enough area to rake a bed.
Lily's bed at base of red pineWe wondered why they were roaming around out in the open away from the security of a big white pine. Could they have been looking for patches of snow fleas—maybe tiny buds? Maybe it was just because they could. The strong crust made walking easy. We wish we could read bears’ minds.
Lily at red pine bed treeIn the afternoon, we tried to drive within walking distance to move the PTZ Camera to Lily’s new spot. We suspected it was within cable length of the Den Shed. That trip ended with discretion being the better part of valor. We chickened out. The snow was too hard and deep for the truck. We decided to try later with the snowmobile.
Juliet's crew foraged on willowWe hiked in to Juliet’s den instead. The story of her activities is about the same as Jewel’s today. The family had been out but were in the den when we arrived. They had been eating tiny buds on a willow (Salix sp.) bush like Lily had been nibbling on a quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) sapling the other day. Both foods are in the same family, Salicaceae, which is named after the active ingredient in aspirin. Maybe all this snow is becoming a headache? (just kidding). Their tracks showed they had been roaming out from the den as if looking for a dry place without snow to bed down. None was available. The Duluth News Tribune said yesterday that there is more snow on the ground at this time than any time in history for that date.
Juliet looks out of her denJuliet was blustery in the den until she realized who it was. Then she and the 3 yearlings (Sam, Sophie, and Sybil) came out and we easily put a GPS unit on Juliet. The den is wet as evidenced by Juliet’s wet underside when she came out, so they will likely leave in a day or two when melting makes their culvert den intolerable.
Ellie in red pineLate afternoon, Sue and Jim snowmobiled to find Lily and attach a GPS unit to her collar. The trip was successful in spite of the fact they forgot snowshoes. Sue got tired of hauling herself out of 4-foot-deep ‘postholes’ and resorted to crawling. They located Lily at the base of a red pine, about 320 feet from the den, where she had made a bed of rotten wood, bark, and twigs. Both cubs were up the tree. Lily calmly ate nuts as we attached a GPS unit to her collar. The bed tree was too far away to move the PTZ to it.
Eli in red pineThe cubs surprised us by coming down the tree—Eli first, then Ellie. However, the cubs were ready to leap for a tree at any move Sue or Jim made. Eli seemed to prefer a nearby aspen tree and ran to it rather than the red pine. The bark on the lower part of aspen trees is strong and deeply grooved, whereas red pine bark is flaky. They climbed up and down with ease after honing their skills navgating the brushpile!
Spidey cubLast night as light was waning, those of us still hoping to catch a glimpse of Lily and cubs on the PTZ were treated to a fox trotting by and stopping to sniff the bear tracks before moving on. An enhanced video of the fox is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL0uC8RgGPo.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.